Vallejo board regains control of schools

The Vallejo City Unified School District celebrated a milestone Monday when State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson formally restored local governance.

"You accomplished this in the worst financial time in the state's history -- maybe even worse than the Great Depression in terms of how schools suffered and were cut," Torlakson said during a special school board meeting on the front steps of the district office. About 200 people gathered for the historic event.

The district had been under state control since 2004, when a financial scandal forced its school board to ask for a $60 million state loan. The nine years that followed were full of painful cuts as State Administrator Richard Damelio and a mostly advisory school board tried to bring the district back to sound financial footing.

The many sacrifices made by employees were far-reaching, Damelio said.

"I know that you're not close to being compensated for what it is you do for this school district. But there's a strong likelihood that this whole profession will never be compensated correctly for the work that we do," Damelio said, speaking directly to teachers at the event.

Representatives of the district's two unions agreed they had given much through the years.

"I don't believe our unions were responsible for the district losing control, but we sure had a hand in its recovery," said Mike Rhoads, president of the local classified employees union that represents nonteaching staff.

Rhoads, as well as Vallejo Education Association President Christal Watts, warned the newly empowered board to ask tough questions of district administrators, to prevent repeating the financial calamity that befell the district in 2004.

During the district's recovery, several schools were shuttered and hundreds of pink slips were issued. But what made Vallejo's recovery exceptional was its focus on innovative ways to enhance student education experiences, Torlakson said.

"You've endured, and you've had a vision. ... This is truly a model of strong recovery, so I commend you on it," the state superintendent said.

Torlakson was a state senator when the Legislature approved the bailout, the seventh in the state and the second largest in history, behind a $100 million loan to Oakland Unified School District. The state will retain some control over the district through a state trustee, who can override decisions by the superintendent or the board that could endanger the district's solvency.

Damelio would have been that trustee, but he is retiring and leaving the district at the end of the month.

The accolades on Monday were many, directed largely at Damelio, who steered the district during uncertain times as well as kept the school board engaged. Also praised was Superintendent Ramona Bishop, who this month observed her second anniversary.

"When Dr. Bishop was in this position, it was the tipping point of our experience. Look at what's happened in the last two years," trustee Adrienne Waterman said.

For her part, Bishop gave credit to those who came before her.

"The groundwork has been laid by those that preceeded us, every one of them. We must learn from our challenges, as well as our victories, and move forward with a commitment to do what is right -- to do what is right -- for the students of Vallejo," Bishop said.

At one poignant moment, board member Tony Ubalde invoked the memory of Cris "Oggee" Villanueva, a trustee who died in June 2011 while in office. Ubalde was elected to serve the remainder of his term.

"The reason that (Villanueva) ran for the second term was that he wanted to be a part of this very moment," Ubalde said. "He wanted to be part of this recovery, and I hope that I sit here with his approval."

Villanueva's twin brother was also at the meeting.

The restoration of the school board's powers comes less than two years after the city of Vallejo ended its own stint in bankruptcy. The parallels of the two entities' struggles were not lost on Mayor Osby Davis. Several speakers, including Davis, hailed the emergence of the city from bankruptcy and the end of state receivership as a new beginning.

"You know there's a lot of stigma that comes with having filed a bankruptcy petition, and people have a tendency not to forget any of that. They forget the good things, but they always remember the bad. But we're going to make them remember the good stuff and forget the bad," Davis said.